Namibia self drive safari
| country: | Namibia |
| location: | Kalahari Desert |
| departures: | This trip can be arranged at any time to suit you and adapted to your requirements. We'll be happy to send you a brochure containing more information |
| price: | From £2038 (14 days) including flights from the UK, based on twin share. This trip can also be booked without flights |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
read 8 travellers reviews
"This trip offers such a great range of experiences with the wildlife viewing and fantastic Namibian landscapes coupled with time spent at the renowned Damaraland community conservation project and with the San Bushmen. Gaining a unique insight into this ancient culture is the absolute highlight for me."
- Lani, responsibletravel.com
- Lani, responsibletravel.com
the amazing things you'll be doing
This is a self-drive trip experiencing wildlife, landscapes, culture and community projects. Driving in Namibia is far easier than in France - while the distances might appear daunting the roads are usually good, straight and empty! Greet sunrise on top of one of the world's highest dunes and wander through a desert so old that unique plants and animals have evolved to survive here. Watch lion stalk Etosha's huge herds of animals by day, then black rhino drinking at floodlit water-holes.
See desert adapted elephants in dry river beds while staying at one of Africa's most celebrated community conservation programmes. Finally this trip offers a unique opportunity to spend time with the San (Bushmen) people, to learn about their unique culture, and to help them conserve their culture and environment.
See desert adapted elephants in dry river beds while staying at one of Africa's most celebrated community conservation programmes. Finally this trip offers a unique opportunity to spend time with the San (Bushmen) people, to learn about their unique culture, and to help them conserve their culture and environment.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1-2: | Arrive into Windhoek, pick up a car and drive out to Ozombanda Guest Farm (2 hours). This friendly guest farm is an old working farm that has returned most of its land back to the area’s natural flora and fauna. Here Volker, Monika and their team will lead you on drives and walks around the rolling area. The farm has healthy numbers of gemsbok, springbok, and steenbok as well as brown hyenas dens and a wide range of birds. There’s even a pair of batteleur eagles which are so used to the farm’s vehicle that they’ll dive-bomb it on some game drives! The emphasis here is on experiencing a traditional Namibian working farm whilst enjoying great hospitality and beautiful surroundings. |
| Day 3-4: | Drive to Damaraland where you will spend two nights at Damaraland Camp an award winning community based conservation project; it's a tremendously friendly, small camp in a very remote area which can help you to get an understanding of the ecosystems of a very harsh, but beautiful, environment. You'll stay in large walk in tents with their own private bathroom. Activities, which are all included, involve exploring the area by 4WD and on foot. The game and bird life are unique, but not prolific, whilst the lucky may sight elephant or even black rhino. |
| Day 5-6: | Drive to Etosha National Park. During the dry season, tens of thousands of animals converge to drink at the water-holes beside this pan. Most of Africa's big game species are found here in large numbers, including: lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, black and white rhino, giraffe, zebra (Burchell's and Hartman's mountain) and many other antelope. Etosha has over 300 species of birds, and a high concentration of lion. For most of the year, these water-holes are ideal places to just sit quietly - observing and photographing game from the comfort of your car. Fortunately, man is one of the rarer mammals here, so your peace is undisturbed. Follow the rhythm of the animals: rise at dawn to watch them feed. Return to camp during the midday heat, perhaps for a swim and lunch. Then visit the water-holes as the animals come out in the late afternoon.You'll spend your first two nights at a restcamp designed with self-drive visitors in mind. It is government-owned and has a variety of simple accommodation: from bungalows with small kitchens to basic rooms. This makes the perfect base to explore the western side of Etosha. It has a shop with basic food supplies, a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, a bar, a large swimming pool and a superb floodlit water-hole. This gets very regular visits from black rhinos at night – and is probably your best chance to see these amazing animals in the wild in Africa today. |
| Day 7-8: | Drive right across Etosha, to the eastern side of the park, where several private lodges offer more luxury than the restcamps. You'll spend your next two nights in Etosha Aoba Lodge – another small, friendly lodge adjacent to the eastern side of Etosha. This makes a delightful base for exploring the east side of the park. Etosha Aoba has it ten beautiful rondavels dotted around a Tamboti forest - within which are several walking trails and a hide which attracts birds and some of the smaller game. |
| Day 9-12: | Drive to Tsumkwe, the tiny centre of Bushmanland, for four nights in this remote region of the Kalahari. Here Arno and Estelle run the simple and comfortable Tsumkwe Lodge, which is your base for visiting a group of the !Kung people — San/Bushmen who live here. They will sensitively introduce you to the area, and to one of the local villages, from which you'll be able to join in with the villager's daily activities: hunting, gathering and tracking … as well as learning about how they live. Whilst here, you'll also have the opportunity to explore the remote Kaudom National Park, Nyae Nyae Pans and amazing local baobabs with Arno. Visitors who stay for longer can also fly-camp in Kaudom, or may be able to stay in a small bushcamp next to one of the villages for a few days. When you leave you'll take an insight into the San/Bushmen's ancient lore, as well as the knowledge that the money they earn from your visit is vital for their future. This is not contrived or artificial; it is authentic. We find this one of the most fascinating and humbling experiences in Africa, but your impression will be dependent upon your own relationship with the villagers. Talk to us about this before you decide about putting it in your itinerary – to see if it will suit you. |
| Day 13: | Drive to the very comfortable Khorab Lodge, where you will spend one night to break the journey between Tsumkwe and Windhoek. From here you can visit local caves famous for their prehistoric paintings, stalactites and endemic cat-fish. |
| Day 14: | Drive back down to Windhoek and stay at Hilltop House, for the last night of your trip. You’ll have time to visit some of the amazing local craft markets for a little last-minute shopping before you fly back to London. |
travellers' tales
Fantastic. The entire trip was memorable - the surroundings varied tremendously, from the Kalahari desert to the Sossusvlei dunes, the dramatic coast line, and finally the wonderful animal viewing in Etosha. (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
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Damaraland Camp is a partnership between wilderness safaris and the local community: the "Ward 11 resident's association." This small, rural community has seats on the camp's management committee, provided virtually all of the camp's staff, and will ultimately own the camp – yet it's been done with the help of the first-rate Wilderness Safaris group. Thanks to PR support from Sunvil Discovery, the project was nominated for the Silver Otter Award, from the British Guild of Travel Writers, as well as developing a reputation as a cutting-edge community conservation project that was really successful for up-market visitors.
Your visit with the San provides them with income and a sense of pride in their culture. Some of the younger San generation have returned to the village from the towns to learn traditional skills from their grandfathers so that they may benefit. Income from tourism enables them to buy meat to supplement their diet and avoid hunting out the land in the immediate vicinity of the village. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |